The latest smartphone marker share figures are out today from Kantar Worldpanel and it shows mixed results for Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform.

When you compare December’s report with last month report from Kantar, you can observe that Windows Phone lost market share in some key markets. Even though the actual unit sales would have been higher in December than November, the smartphone market is growing at a pace that Windows Phone platform is yet to achieve. Windows Phone platform gained market share in Germany, GB, Spain and Italy while it lost market share in France, USA, China and Australia.

There is an increasing pressure for Windows Phone platform to succeed in China and US markets. In China, it is very difficult to capture the market without local OEM support. Just like how Microsoft is now allowing local Indian OEMs to produce Windows Phone devices, I hope Microsoft is working with lots of Chinese OEMs to release Windows Phone devices.

Nokia on its part should continue to release new devices at various price points. After Nokia Lumia 925, Nokia is yet to release a high-end Windows Phone device targeting mainstream crowd. The leaked Lumia Icon/Lumia 930 looks good, but it should come as soon as possible to address the hole in the market.